Leaves
by doodlegirll
Summary: AU. Pocahontas and John tell each other about their lives. .:Oneshot. Please R&R!:.


**Wow...it has been forever since I last posted something over here! Seriously! How long has it been? A year? Longer than that? I can't even remember...**

**Anyway, here is my newest creation! I want to apologize in advance for any OOCness that might be encountered here, or anything that doesn't quite click in with the concept. I'm a little rusty. ;)**

**This is supposed to be set sometime between the time when John shows up in the cornfield looking for Pocahontas, and the time Pocahontas shows him Grandmother Willow. I hope it makes sense. It's supposed to be a little AU, but, eh...**

**Enjoy, and please review!!!**

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Leaves

_By doodlegirll_

...oOo...

"Everything about this place…" John said, gazing up at the trees surrounding them as he dipped the canoe oar into the water. "Is amazing."

Pocahontas smiled as she pushed aside a few low hanging branches of a tree that stood in their path. "I told you." She said. "Once you see the earth for what it truly is, not what it's worth, it's like you've just woken up from a dream, and you're finally seeing reality."

John grinned. "I guess I was just…too blind before." He said. "I needed something to wake me up."

They guided the canoe towards the shore. Pocahontas climbed out, John in tow, and together they pulled it onto shore, setting the oars inside.

"I used to love this spot, when I was little," Pocahontas said as they looked up at the enormous sycamore tree near the edge of the river. "I used to climb all the way to the top and look out at the earth around me. I felt like an eagle in the sky."

John nodded and gazed into the tree's branches. "I think I'll stick to the ground." He said. "I'm not very good at climbing trees."

Pocahontas laughed. "I think that might be a good idea!" She said. She walked over to the trunk of the tree and sat down on the cool grass, leaning back against the bark. John made his way over to join her.

The two sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company before Pocahontas spoke.

"What is London like, for you, as home?" She asked.

John, a bit surprised by the question, looked at her.

"Well…" He said. "I've already told you a little about it. The buildings are as tall as trees, and bridges are built over the rivers. There are more people than there are stars in the sky at night, or the leaves on the trees in the summer. Everyone looks different, too. We have every color of hair and eyes you can imagine."

Pocahontas plucked a strand of his blonde hair. "I remember when I first saw you. I thought it was strange how you looked, with hair the color of sunflowers and eyes the color of the sky." She said. "But, what about you? Don't you have a family?"

John shook his head. "My mother died when I was very young, and my father when I was fourteen. That was the year I first started exploring. Just jumped a ship and never looked back. I have a flat back in London, where I stay between voyages."

"Don't you ever get tired of it? Exploring I mean." Pocahontas asked. "Why do you do it time after time?"

John shrugged. "I don't know, Pocahontas." He said. "I guess I've just never had a reason to stop." He smiled. "Anyway, enough about me. What about you?"

Pocahontas sighed as she looked back up into the trees. "Well, I was born sometime in the fall, right around the time the leaves are full of color, but haven't all fallen. I'm the daughter of the chief Powhatan and Alsoomse." She started. "My real name is Matoaka."

"Ma-to-aka?" John sounded out.

Pocahontas nodded. "But I don't think anyone has ever called me anything but my nickname, Pocahontas. I can't remember a time when I wasn't called that. It means 'little mischief.' All of our names mean something, like my mother's name meant 'independent,' and my best friend Nakoma's name means 'loyal one.'"

"So you're the daughter of the chief?" John asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, why?" Pocahontas asked.

"Nothing." John said. "Your father just sounds like he's a powerful man is all."

Pocahontas nodded. "He would be furious with me if he knew I was meeting you." She said. "He's convinced that all of your kind is evil, and can't be trusted."

"Not all of us _can _be trusted, Pocahontas." John warned her.

"I know." She said. "But I know _you _can be, and that's good enough for me."

John smiled.

"What of your mother?" He asked. "What is she like?"

Pocahontas's brown eyes clouded for a moment, and John wondered if he had said something wrong.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's nothing." Pocahontas said quietly. "My mother died four years ago."

John nearly slapped himself. So he _had _said the wrong thing!

"Oh…" He said, fumbling for the right words to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Pocahontas shook her head, cutting him off. "It's alright." She said. "You didn't know." She fingered the blue and white shell necklace around her neck. "This was hers. She gave it to my father to give to me when I came of age. My father and the rest of my village say I look just like her, and that I have her spirit. And she's not really gone. Not really."

Scarlet and gold leaves blew gently in front of the two.

"Her spirit still lives on as the spirit of the wind. She watches over me and my village. We all look to her for strength and guidance."

Pocahontas stood to her feet, taking John's hand and helping him to his feet as she did so. The leaves swirled around them, tossing their hair in their faces, wrapping around their clasped hands. After a moment, they enveloped John completely.

"I think she approves of you." Pocahontas said.

John could have sworn he heard something, right then, whispering in his ear. It sounded like a woman singing her child to sleep with a soft lullaby. John closed his eyes and breathed deeply, listening closely to the wind's song. He felt a contented warmth overcome him, and somehow he knew the wind had looked deep into his heart, had reached out and touched his very soul.

And then, along with the singing, a clear voice resonated.

_Take care of her, my son._

John's eyes snapped open, and for a moment, he thought he saw a woman who looked somewhat like Pocahontas, but most definitely a different person. The figure smiled, and was gone with the swirling of leaves.

John smiled and gripped Pocahontas's hand in his.

"I think you're right." He said.

Pocahontas's eyes shone. "Come with me." She said, leading him back towards the canoe. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

_He has a good soul…_

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**Hope the ending was okay...I wasn't too happy with it, but I wasn't sure how to end it exactly...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!**

**Bye, guys!**

**-Robin**


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